Comments on: A rose by any other name...

Question: A rose by any other name...

luciddream928 — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 19:46:33 -0800

I bought dried rosehips for tea. They were hard as rocks and didn't steep at all. What now?

I've searched AskMetafilter and while this post mentioned re-steeping, I can't find the recipe (ratio of rose hips to water, how long I should boil them, etc.) and the thread is closed. A Google search yields info about growing one's own rosehips, not the ones you find in a health store.

By: pla

pla — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 20:21:02 -0800

Give 'em a whack with a hammer. Seriously - smaller pieces will soften and steep easier. Just strain your tea before drinking it.

That said, too hard implies too old - They'll probably still have a decent amount of Vitamin C, but the rest of the good stuff (antioxidants, mostly) in rose hips will break down with time. And if you just want the C, have a cup of orange juice. :)

If you do want to collect your own - Do you live near an ocean? Rosa Canina and Rosa Rugosa pretty much grow everywhere you have that nice interface between salty-wasteland and "real" dirt. They look like normal roses in bloom, then the petals drop off and leave something that looks basically like a small green tomato. They've already gone by for this year, but watch for the flowers next spring.

/ IAAH(erbalist) (though not by trade, just a hobby)

By: edgeways

edgeways — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 20:22:03 -0800

YMMV
But what I would do is crush them/grind them and put in a tea ball.

Or let them soak overnight in initially hot water just a little more than covering.

By: MaryDellamorte

MaryDellamorte — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 22:02:00 -0800

Have you called the store you bought it from and asked them? They may have some advice. Also, in reference to a comment above, heat destroys vitamin C so you aren't going to be getting it from things you steep in hot water.

By: luciddream928

luciddream928 — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 22:43:09 -0800

All helpful answers - thank you!! I laughed at the hammer comment, but will try. Food processor might be a good option too.

By: mollymayhem

mollymayhem — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 23:02:26 -0800

If they're that hard, seriously, don't put 'em in the food processor. You'll just dull the blade and scratch the bowl all up. Hammer is honestly genuinely the way to go.

By: Lady Li

Lady Li — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 00:16:06 -0800

If you're worried about them going anywhere when you hit them with a hammer, put them in a baggy (or a few layers of bag, since the shards can rip through at least my flimsy plastic bags) first.

By: koahiatamadl

koahiatamadl — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 03:29:02 -0800

If you're going to hammer I'd put them in a plastic bag and wrap the plastic bag with tea towels otherwise stuff will go everywhere....plastic bag alone is going to get shredded by the bits and you'll still have stuff going everywhere.

By: lathrop

lathrop — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 09:39:37 -0800

2 seconds in a coffee-grinder?

By: luciddream928

luciddream928 — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 13:46:36 -0800

I realized they weren't as hard as I thought. I crushed one with the edge of a butterknife and it crushed pretty easily. So I put them in the food processor. It worked like a dream. Thanks for the suggestions everyone! Now I can enjoy my tea : )